Collections
by Shaveza
Summary: Cross’ mother would tell him how when he grew up and had children of his own, those children would change his entire perspective and force him to rethink his priorities. Later in life, Cross would be fervently trying to prove his mother’s words wrong.
1. Smiles

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this painful little tale.

**Summary:** "Neh, Yuu-chan," Lavi asked. "Why do you hate Allen so much?" Kanda didn't answer. It wasn't _Allen_ he hated.

* * *

**Smiles**

* * *

There were many types of smiles in the world, Kanda reflected.

There was the kind of smile worn by the enemy that made you think: Holy crap, I'm gonna die. Kanda prided himself on being able to give these kinds of smiles to his enemies and people he didn't like.

There was the kind of smile worn most often by children that told the people around them that they were happy. Kanda's fingers grazed against his beads, the image of a black-haired little girl with a violet-blue sheen in her hair and dark eyes. The girl was crying, but she was smiling; Kanda's last image of his little sister before Tiedoll had taken him from Japan to become an Exorcist.

There were coy smiles, worn by teasing lovers and sly prostitutes. That kind of smile disgusted Kanda.

There were embarrassed smiles, which someone wore when they were caught in the act of something stupid. Kanda saw this smile on too many people for his liking.

There were grins, the kind that idiots like Lavi wore whenever they found something 'fun'. Kanda also knew that it was a good idea to flee whenever he saw it.

There were smirks, which were only arrogant smiles worn by someone who was going to win some great prize. According to Lavi, Allen had this kind of look when playing poker. Needless to say, Kanda didn't believe Lavi.

Then there were smiles of love and affection for a beloved. Kanda saw these passed between Lenalee and her sis-con of a brother often enough.

Then there was something that Kanda Yuu had come to call the Allen-smile.

It scared him.

Kanda was in the habit of not lying to himself. His time in this world was shorter than most by choice and he didn't want to leave the world with any regrets because he was too busy trying to lie to himself. When Allen came, Kanda almost regretted that he couldn't lie to himself like all the other people in the Order, because he was the only one who could see that Allen's smiles were the most frightening.

Allen smiles were not happy ones. Kanda didn't believe that the damn moyashi was ever truly _happy_. If it wasn't an Allen-smile, then _maybe_ it was a content smile, but those were as rare as the blooming of a lotus. When Allen played a card game, he would wear a smirk (as Lavi insisted).

Allen smiles were the kind of smile that displayed soft love that knew no boundaries. Allen loved explicitly and whole-heartedly. It was the kind of love that had no rules and no discriminations. Allen simply loved everyone. The boy had a martyr complex the size of the newly captured Ark.

He had heard about Allen trying to save Suman Dark, even though Allen Walker and Suman Dark had never met before that moment. The moyashi must have been wallowing in the deepest pool of regret and self-hatred when he couldn't do anything to stop the Noah, Tyki Mikk from killing the older Exorcist. Lavi had explained how he tried to exorcise the Noah from the one who'd killed Suman Dark, but instead, the Noah had been completely taken over by his blood and gone mad. Without Lavi ever saying it, he knew that there was a slim possibility that the Order would've had a prisoner by the name of Tyki Mikk.

It shouldn't be possible for one tiny, under-grown _human_ boy to love like that. It was painful and excruciating to have that smile on him. And every time Allen smiled at Kanda like that, he'd say something—_anything!_—cruel to get the boy to _stop __**smiling **_at him _like __**that!**_

"Neh, Yuu-chan," Lavi poked at the swordsman's forehead with an inquisitive finger, jerking it back nearly as quickly, as if afraid the appendage would be bitten or sliced off. It was a well-developed reflex, to be sure.

"Don't _call_ me that," he growled, hand twitching on reflex towards Mugen.

"Why do you hate Allen so much?" Lavi asked. Kanda frowned and didn't answer; he simply returned to his book and continued reading.

It wasn't _Allen_ he hated.

He hated Allen's smiles and all the legitimacy of the boy's love that the rest of the Order refused to see.


	2. Cursed

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this, now would I?

This piece was born after I read a comment that the symbols surrounding the Akuma Plant looked identical to the tattoo on Kanda's chest. It isn't…I don't think, but the two symbols are freakishly similar. Tiedoll has said he's indebted to Cross, but doesn't say how or why.

**Summary:** Keeping a tight hold on his Innocence, Kanda drifted off to sleep. But not before seeing a beautifully bloomed lotus in the top part of a large hourglass.

* * *

**Cursed**

* * *

China was semi-comfortable, but it wasn't Japan. Dark colored eyes swept the busy market place, studying everything intently. He was careful not to lose his Master or his fellow apprentices, a noisy rude boy named Daisya Barry and a much more silent solemn boy named Noise Marie. Daisya was the youngest in age, but was his _senpai_, which annoyed him.

"Kanda," Daisya called, gesturing for the Japanese youngster to catch up to him. Kanda broke out into a run to do so, looking rather disgruntled that he'd allowed himself to trail behind. Daisya grinned at him and pointed to where their Master was talking to a tall red-haired man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a heavy, gold-embossed black coat. Kanda immediately shared his _senpai's_ interest. Master Tiedoll had explained that the Generals of the Black Order wore gold coats while regular exorcists wore silver.

Marie asked a question to Daisya and Daisya answered. Kanda felt some frustration and not being able to understand anything other than his native language, but Master Tiedoll had said that they would stay in China for awhile to learn Chinese. At least it would be a common language between them.

Daisya tapped his shoulder and pointed at the other General. "Cross Marian." At least names were universal, Kanda mused, even if the part of the world gave their surnames last. Daisya tended to forget that Kanda's culture gave their surnames first and when the younger boy went wide-eyed at something Marie said and repeated the name as 'Marian Cross', Kanda knew that Daisya had forgotten the fact again.

Kanda's vision suddenly blurred and a sharp pain stabbed his chest. He groaned and clutched at his clothing while trying to grab at Daisya to keep the boy from running off to alert Master Tiedoll.

Maire grabbed at him, keeping him from collapsing and also letting Daisya escape Kanda's grasping hand. Kanda growled at Marie and shrugged the older boy off, falling to his knees.

In a matter of moments, Master Tiedoll was kneeling next to him. Kanda shied away from his Master's arms, unnerved by the touchy-feelingness of the man. Not even his own mother had coddled him as much as Tiedoll tried to do. The other General laughed and said something to Tiedoll. Kanda had the funny feeling that General Marian had just said something insulting from the way Daisya and Marie tensed. Kanda glared up at the General. For some reason, the General found this extremely amusing and laughed again.

"Where'd you find him, Tiedoll?" Kanda reared back in surprise. He hadn't been expecting to be spoken to in his own language by someone other than Master Tiedoll.

"Japan, obviously," Master Tiedoll replied. "And you know that or you wouldn't be speaking in Japanese."

"I don't think he takes to your father-complex very well," the redhead General smirked.

"He's just going thru a rebellious stage, that's all," Master Tiedoll explained.

"_What?_" Kanda jerked away from his teacher. "Don't act like you're my father!"

"So he has a tongue, after all!" General Marian grinned fiercely at the boy. "Now, you said there's a problem. Tell me now that I've gotten over my shock that _you_are asking _me_ for _help_!"

"In private," Tiedoll said.

"Sure, whatever," General Marian said glibly, shrugging. "I don't care." The man suddenly grinned rather frighteningly. "I'm sure Lin won't mind putting your brats up for the night."

"Who's Lin?" Master Tiedoll asked warily.

"A woman I always make sure to visit," General Marian answered. "Her entire business consists of Supporters for the Order."

"And her business is…?" Master Tiedoll asked. Kanda had to wonder what could be so bad to put his Master on guard in this manner. Daisya and Marie seemed to realize that something was happening because the pair's eyes were flickering between Master Tiedoll and the other General.

"She's closed today," General Marian said. "If you're worried about your brats' so-called _purity_, there won't be anything to see."

"No," Master Tiedoll said flatly. "I will not expose my student to those sorts of sights."

"Nothing's open at the moment, not during this time of day," General Marian said. "There seriously won't be anything _to_ see except the drunks. We can take the back way even. Besides, Lin's _seriously_ isn't going to be opening up tonight."

"How do you know?" Master Tiedoll demanded.

"All I have to do is tell her that I'm in the company of a grumpy, sheltering daddy from the Order and she'll close up," General Marian said.

"He is _not_ my father," Kanda snapped out.

"Fine, a self-appointed, sheltering father," General Marian said. "And don't argue with me ever again, brat." Kanda made a tiny noise in the back of his throat. "Oh, and its General _Cross_ to you, brat. Call me Marian and there's going to be problems." Kanda was distinctly uncomfortable on being on any sort of first-name basis with someone he didn't know well and it showed.

" 'Marian' is close to 'Maria', which is a woman's name," Master Tiedoll explained. There was a split second in which Kanda was _positive_ that his Master had just narrowly escaped death…or at the very least, a severe beating. Kanda was fairly sure that there'd been some sort of double meaning in what his Master had just said and it had nothing to do with implying that General Cross was feminine (because the man couldn't be mistaken for a girl even _with_ his long hair from behind). Kanda looked to his fellow students and they all shared a bewildered glance that told Kanda they too had picked up the brief, murderous aura as he had.

General Cross said something in another language that he hadn't heard and from the vaguely disappointed look on Daisya's face, knew that the other two didn't know the language either. Master Tiedoll just smiled benignly and replied in the same language. The two Generals argued some more before Master Tiedoll sighed and gave in to whatever it was the General Cross wanted, though he did so grudgingly.

Master Tiedoll gestured for his apprentices to follow him. General Cross led the way.

* * *

Kanda was pretty sure that this place was the sort of place that his parents would have disowned him for being caught at, but since Kanda was now in self-imposed disownment, it didn't matter much. The look on Daisya's face had become increasingly more and more disbelieving the further General Cross led them while conversely, Marie became more and more insecure. Kanda only proceeded to become even more baffled (not that he would ever admit it).

After a meal, Daisya and Marie had been shown their room while Kanda, Master Tiedoll, and General Cross went to a private place.

"Now, what was it you wanted me to do?" General Cross asked. Master Tiedoll looked expectantly at Kanda and the boy's face twisted violently in denial and realization what this meeting was about.

"No," Kanda said flatly.

"Kanda," Master Tiedoll said. He had learned that if he wanted his newest apprentice to listen to him, he just had to use the boy's preferred and culturally-accepted way of calling people. "He _might_ be able to slow the process down."

"Slow _what_ down?" General Cross suddenly looked infinitely more interested. "I was interested before, but now I'm even _more_ interested."

"I don't _want_ it to slow down," Kanda hissed, ignoring the redheaded General's question.

"If you _don't_ slow it down, you won't be able to be of any use to the Order; you'll probably die before you even see Europe," Master Tiedoll said. "I thought you wanted to be of use to the Order."

"Yes," Kanda grumbled.

"Then tell the General what I've been told," Master Tiedoll said. Kanda stared down at his hands. They were so tiny compared to his Master's, even compared to Marie's his hands were so small; they didn't fit around Mugen's hilt yet either. Why did he have to rely on some complete stranger—_again—_for help? Kanda threw the most poisonous glare he could at General Cross. Seeing that Kanda was hardly going to say anything, Master Tiedoll took the glare his young apprentice was giving as a sign that he could speak about Kanda's…'problem'.

"The little—ouch!" Master Tiedoll rubbed his thigh where he'd been kicked by Kanda. "Kanda here got himself mixed up in the family curse that was supposed to fall onto his sister. If we can't find a way to slow the drain on Kanda's life, he's going to turn into a…what is it again, Kanda?"

"It's called the Lotus Beast," Kanda answered reluctantly. "I'm going to turn into the Lotus Beast in the place of my sister." General Cross looked momentarily stumped.

"The _Lotus Beast_, are you positive about that?" The man demanded.

"What, you actually know something?" Master Tiedoll stared warily at the other General.

"Only in passing," General Cross said. The man was studying Kanda with an uncomfortable amount of intrigue. "I _think_ I can do something. If he's careful, he'll get a good fifteen to twenty years added onto his life. If he's reckless, he'll get another five at most." Next to Kanda, his Master tensed.

"Five is the minimum?" Master Tiedoll asked with a tone of fear in his voice.

"If he's a complete _idiot_ and gets himself stabbed in all the wrong places all the time," General Cross snorted. "As long as you ingrain sense into him and teach him to guard his vitals, he'll live to see his late twenties at most. However, I can't guarantee what I have in mind will work of if it will work—it could work perfectly, not at all, or it might not even work as I expect it too. Heck, it might even take _off_ a few years and his time will be even _shorter_."

"You can _try_, right?" Master Tiedoll demanded.

"Of course, but it'll take me a couple of days to get everything set up if you're willing to wait around," General Cross said. "And only if the kid agrees to it." General Cross and Master Tiedoll both looked at Kanda. The child didn't want to look at his Master, or he'd see that pleading gaze. Kanda's fists tightened in the cloth of his pants.

"Fine, I'll do it," Kanda muttered. He knew instinctively that Master Tiedoll was smiling with relief and he could just about _feel_ the eager grin on General Cross' face.

"Alright then, I get right to work on gathering the supplies, just let Lin take care of you guys," General Cross said.

* * *

Daisya and Marie could instantly tell that _something _was up and though Daisya pestered his Master to no end, he got no answers. Marie preferred to wait. Daisya would've bugged Kanda if he could speak Japanese, but as he didn't, he couldn't bug Kanda. They both may have been learning Chinese, but it really wasn't enough yet to actually_ talk_ with each other.

Daisya would have bothered General Cross, but it was probably a good thing that the General wasn't around to be bothered because Daisya would have suffered a concussion and General Cross would learn the unorthodox use of hammers a number of years before he really needed to know.

* * *

Kanda watched as General Cross sealed a lotus flower that had yet to bloom in a large hourglass. It was going to be the gauge of what time he had left before the Lotus Beast would take him over. Kanda was sure the General had meant the item to be as…'meaningful' as possible.

"Put your Mugen out of the way, better yet, get it out of the room," General Cross instructed. "Where's that self-proclaimed daddy of yours anyways. He needs to watch over Judgment and Grave of Maria for me as well. _Tiedoll_! I need you to babysit the Innocence for me!"

"Coming, coming," Master Tiedoll sighed heavily. The ageing man paused at the doorway. "I'm hoping you don't mean Grave of Maria as well."

"Have your other brats watch her for me if she creeps you out that badly," General Cross scoffed. "If I put the Innocence in danger, my status as General won't mean crap. Keep it _away_ from this room." Kanda reluctantly handed the white-hilted Mugen over to his Master while a revolver was unceremoniously tossed at Master Tiedoll's head.

"You shouldn't treat your weapon like that," Master Tiedoll scolded.

"It forgives me," General Cross answered flippantly, handing over a box Kanda figured to be Innocence fragments with much more care. "Judgment doesn't much care for you anyways. I'll go set Maria in your brats' room."

"Now hold on Cross! I don't want a corpse in my children's room!" Kanda stared after his Master and the other General in a bewildered amazement. A _corpse_? What was General Cross doing with a _corpse? _On second thought, Kanda probably didn't _want_ to know. "Put it in mine and I'll watch it there!"

"_Her_, Tiedoll, _her!_" General Cross snapped, changing directions and heading into Master Tiedoll's room. Tiedoll followed, looking—oddly enough—angry and annoyed. It was a strange expression on his Master's face; Kanda didn't know what to make of this side of Master Tiedoll. Kanda retreated back into the room and sat in the middle of the floor, waiting for General Cross to come back.

Magic, Kanda thought, was a sin against God; or so said Master Tiedoll. Kanda still didn't know what he was supposed to make of his Master's religion. It clashed terribly with what he was familiar with. At the moment, he didn't care about things like _Kami_. He cared that his sister would not die a horrible death when the Lotus Beast had fed on enough life force. That was all that mattered to him now.

Nothing else mattered.

* * *

_"Hah, he and __…perfect together…in the way…his sister, I…."_

_"What will….to Mugen?"_ Mugen? What was wrong with his Mugen?

_"It will…when he does."_ Kanda tried to open his eyes and found that he couldn't. It was like someone had dribbled something sticky over his eyes to keep them shut. It seemed to take a long time before he was able to wrench his eyes open.

"Kanda?" Daisya leaned over him, wide-eyed and looking relieved. The boy began yelling loudly and Kanda growled, drawing back a fist and lashing out at the too-loud boy. Daisya rocked backwards out of the way and shouted out something else. Kanda tried to find Mugen, but he didn't see it anywhere. There was a black sword that _looked_ like Mugen's reverse twin, but that wasn't Mugen.

"Kanda! Yuu-kun, you're awake," Master Tiedoll said in relief. Kanda growled, but otherwise, let the use of his first name slide this one time. Master Tiedoll's eyes flickered to the black Mugen and picked up the sword. Kanda's eyes widened in realization and he struggled to sit up. Daisya pushed him back down.

That sword _was_ Mugen. Master Tiedoll laid the precious sword next to him and Kanda curled his fingers around the hilt possessively.

"What happened?" Kanda snarled. Daisya reeled back comically and laughed. Kanda glared. The boy just smiled.

"Normal," Daisya said in heavily accented Chinese, pointing at his fellow apprentice with a finger. Kanda just glared harder.

"It _seems_ that Mugen didn't take to kindly to Cross' magic, or maybe it just didn't like being separated from you," Master Teidoll said. "Regardless, Mugen now has a part in the grand scheme of your curse. Cross is unsure how; he said it's up to you to figure it out." Kanda rolled onto his side, tugging Mugen closer to him. Keeping a tight hold on his Innocence, Kanda drifted off to sleep.

But not before seeing a beautifully bloomed lotus in the top part of a large hourglass.


	3. Grave of Maria

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _D.Gray__-Man_. If I did, you might not read it and this fandom wouldn't exist. 

I swear to you all, I _will_ have something amusing next chapter. "Cursed" was cute, and it had its grinning moments, but I'm going to alleviate the mood of "Collections" with a little something called…well….

Just know that the next installment is going to have a freakishly long title that will probably not be typed into the chapter box.

Whoops, forgot the summary!

**Summary:** The spiral downward into sin was... Cross has simply reanimated Maria's body, not called back her soul, which he could have done.

* * *

**Grave of Maria**

* * *

_Numb._

He stumbled over to the single black coffin in the center of the room. Where were the other coffins? Why was there just one? The funeral chapel was either completely empty or completely filled and the single coffin in the middle seemed to make fun of the extra space that _should _have been occupied.

_He couldn't feel anything._

He'd only been gone a couple of weeks. He'd known she'd caught a cold and been confined to a bed here at Home, but it had only been a cold.

"It was a cold, not a severe one, though worse than the average sniffle and bone aches. Maria was in the medical ward for a couple of days at one point. However," a man's deep sorrowful rumble said from somewhere behind Cross, "bearing a parasitic type of Innocence…it was too much for her body." Cross collapsed next to the coffin, staring blankly at the Rose Cross decorating the white sheet.

"I want to be alone," Cross said, tone hollow and empty. When the current Chief Officer of the Black Order—a man that was getting on in his years—didn't move at first, Cross stood and snarled. "_Get out!_" The older man reeled back in shock and quickly left.

_Everything had been drained from his limbs._

It was like the angry shout had drained the last of his energy. Cross fell to the floor and began sobbing. He was alone…no one but God, his angels and the dead would see his shame of letting out his sorrow in such an undignified manner.

_It felt like hours._

Cross lay limply on the floor next to Maria's coffin, too worn down by grief to move. "Maria..." Cross pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Where had the strength come from?

What he wouldn't give to have Maria back. Cross entertained the notion of leaving the Order for the night and haunting the graveyards. The Earl would love that, wouldn't he? It'd be the ultimate oxymoron, the world's grandest parody…an Exorcist becoming an Akuma…the Akuma bearing the soul of an Exorcist.

Cross stiffened and whipped out Judgment, activating the Innocence and pressed the barrel against the side of his head. His eyes were wide, searching for the Millennium Earl; drawing in deep, gasping breaths. _Oh_, God forgive him, he hadn't just _thought_ that. He _hadn't_ just thought _that!_

But he had. Cross laughed; the sound was odd and crazed even to his ears. Judgment thrummed in his hand, almost worriedly. Cross lowered his weapon, rubbing the revolver in a soothing manner.

Cross smiled an odd, black smile. There were other ways to raise the dead.

Judgment vibrated with a fearful note. Cross could imagine it didn't like the direction his thoughts were headed.

Cross had been a child—like so many other Exorcists—when he'd been brought to the Black Order. However, unlike so many other Exorcists, he was the child of heretics—devil-worshipers to be honest, a family of _dead_ devil-worshippers. Cross didn't miss them. He found it difficult to miss family members who tried to sacrifice him to the devil.

His first months here at the Order were all memories of cleansing rituals, constant praying, and training with Judgment. He'd been thoroughly exhausted and had been quite ready to go to sleep and never wake up. Then _finally_ the Vatican had ordained him clean and christened him with the name Cross Marian.

To say that Cross was thankful to the Black Order was an understatement. But no matter how great his relief for being brought out of the hellhole he'd never realized he lived in, that still did not stop him from practicing…_less_ vile spells he'd been taught as a child. Magic was something he couldn't fully distance himself from for whatever reason. It was too deeply ingrained into his being.

_There was no pain_.

He blinked, studying the diagram without really seeing it. Later, he wouldn't even recall destroying the right side of his face for the blood. There was no pain. He just did it.

_The spiral downward into__ sin__ was…._

_The fallacy that was already known…._

Cross wondered what other parts of his body he just might have lost to the spell as he sat next to Maria, coughing up blood and whatever happened to be in his stomach from breakfast that morning. He could hear loud voices and a rush of footsteps. The doors to the room slammed open.

The intruders found themselves looking at the end of Judgment's barrel.

Cross breathed in gasps, not looking at anyone.

"Cross, what did you do?" The Chief Officer demanded.

"Heh, your voice is…it's trembling," Cross laughed weakly, staring up thru his left eye at the man. The Exorcist was delirious from blood loss and grief.

"Cross?" An Exorcist pushed her way forwards, tanned skin oddly pale. Her eyes flickered to Maria. "Oh, Cross…." The woman rushed forwards, the monkey on her shoulder shrieking in fright at the horrible stench of blood. Cross kept Judgment trained on the ones clustered at the door.

"Cloud…," Cross coughed; his lips stained red from his own blood. The Exorcist pulled out a handkerchief from a pocket and began cleaning Cross up the best she could.

Cross allowed the action, rocking back to balance on his feet and knees to give Cloud an easier time. His eyes trailed to Maria. She was standing in a white gown, her face expressionless. Cross had to struggle to remember the diagram in his mind.

His shoulders slumped slightly. There was no mistake with the diagram. Cross has simply reanimated Maria's body, not called back her soul, which he could have done. A part of him was glad. It was a paper-thin floor that kept Cross from the Earl's level. He was still no better, though.

Cross permitted his body to slide into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Cross Marian." Cross stared emptily across the table with his remaining eye. He'd been in the medical ward for a month. His physical injuries had healed, but his mind and heart were still wounded. He grunted in acknowledgement of the Inspector across the table from him. 

It was kind of funny, really. Cross gazed down at the gold cuffs on his new coat. How ironic was it that he commits a highly heretical act and becomes a General for it? When had he fully synchronized with Judgment exactly? He could recall a screaming in the back of his mind. Could Judgment been trying to speak with him, somehow? He could sense disgust from Maria's Innocence as well as Judgment's disappointment and distress. Neither emotion had left him during those half-aware days in the hospital nor they hadn't left him now either. Or…maybe those were his own feelings as well.

"You are here forth given the title of General Exorcist and given the mission that is shared by all Generals," the Inspector said. "That is to say: the retrieval of Innocence and the search for new Accommodators. However, for your first five years as a General, you will give over any Accommodators to either General Yeegar or General Tiedoll. You will not be allowed an apprentice." Cross should say something careless like: 'What? Don't want me teaching magic to anyone?' Something of that nature, but he didn't feel up to it.

"Fine," he answered tonelessly once he realized they were waiting for him to answer. He would have tagged on a smart-aleck comment about not wanting to look after any brats, but again, he didn't feel up to it.

"Alright then, now we must move on to other things," the Inspector was saying. The hand propping Cross's head on the arm of his chair dropped, his remaining eye widened in surprise. That was it? No punishment or anything? At the _very_ least, Cross had expected to been tortured until he was nearly dead and been ordered to lift the necromancy magic on Maria's body.

He was not the only one to think that because several of the Branch Heads stirred restlessly and General Tiedoll made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat. The Inspector realized something was amiss and shot a questioning look around the room.

"That's it?" The Middle East Branch Head demanded in surprise. "You're just about rewarding him for his…disgusting act, playing the Earl!" Cross let out a short bark of laughter and sank in his seat, covering his face with a hand. The exclamation had startled everyone. No one said anything to Cross to alleviate his grief. Cross would put one of Judgment's bullets between the eyes of the person who tried.

It wasn't as if he didn't know...

"In truth, the Vatican was surprised that Cross managed to abstain from his childhood learning as well as he has," the Inspector said. "We were expecting something like this a long time ago. If you don't believe his actions have had any effect on him at all, take a good look at General Cross and tell me what you see." The Inspector was much too kind…his second-in-command (some snake-face punk named Malcolm C. Rouvelier) however, was scowling for all his worth at his superior's back. Cross opened his eye and returned to staring blankly across the table.

"Is he being allowed to keep Maria, then?" General Tiedoll asked in a tone that could fool anyone into thinking that he was concerned. Cross flinched. It would be a horrible gift to have to keep Maria.

"He is being _ordered_ to keep Maria," the Inspector replied. Cross stared in disbelief at the Inspector. He was having trouble breathing. "And from the look on your face, General Cross, I say that's punishment enough." Cross folded his arms on the table and lowered his head onto them. No one disputed the logic.

The meeting went on, discussing a number of things that Cross didn't care about. No one bothered him. Cross wouldn't have heard them anywyas. He was focused entirely on the mind-numbing pain that resided in his chest where his heart should have been. Finally, the meeting came to an end. Cross was ordered by the Chief to see him in the office for the Innocence he would carry and for discussion on how he was to travel with Maria tomorrow morning. A corpse was still—quite obviously—a corpse. He could not go strolling thru the streets with a dead woman a few steps behind.

Cross nodded and returned to Headquarters without saying another word.

Whispers followed him thru the halls and Cross let himself hear and memorize every shrewd comment and every degrading phrase directed towards his person. Cross was momentarily tempted by the smells wafting from the cafeteria but his stomach rebelled violently at the thought of food. He returned to his new quarters and fell lifelessly to the bed. Maria stood tirelessly in a corner of his room, her dead eyes focused on everything and nothing all at once.

Cross wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep.

* * *

The next afternoon saw Cross leaving Headquarters, an elongated black coffin held over one shoulder by the way of an extremely long ornate chain. The coffin had an upside-cross emblazoned in darkened silver on the front. Cross didn't look back, not once. He had really started to hate this place. It was filled with too many bad memories and too much pain. 

Once a year maybe, at Christmas time, he'd return to the Order. Maria had always loved Christmas because, to her, it was the one of the year where people felt they were able to lay down their personal disagreements with each other and smile at each other. He knew that she'd want to keep enjoying the holiday as much as possible.

"Only for you, Maria," he murmured. "I'm only coming back to the Order at Christmas because I _know_ you'd kill me otherwise." Cross straightened his shoulders with some effort. At the gate, Cross paused and closed his good eye, his free hand coming up to run fingers down the white mask with a cross carved into the surface. "Only at Christmas."


	4. A Thesis on the Subject of Exorcists

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _D.Gray-Man_. I prefer writing the fandom anyways.

I had so much fun with this. It should've been _illegal_ at how much fun it was to write this. I was grinning like an idiot, it was so much fun!

Anyways, at the rate I post these ficlets I eventually will run out and the going will become much slower as I try to churn out ideas. So, to help keep up a flow, I'm going to need prompts. Eh, lessee. I'll get up some sort of form next chapter so that way, it all looks the same.

Admittng prompts will start next chapter! ((Yes, this is also a blantant cry for more reviews. sweatdrops))

**Summary: **"Kanda just barged into my room and the wrong time and—." "Oh-ho!" Komui grinned maniaclly, leaning forwards across his desk eagerly. "A secret lover, perhaps? Not as innocent as you look, eh, Allen-chan!"

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**A Thesis o****n the Subject of Exorcists****'**** Need of Physical Contact**

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I'm so sorry, Reever," Komui looked up sheepishly at the Australian scientist. "I'm working on this very important thesis, so could you just leave that stack here, please?" Reever wasn't quite sure if he could believe what was coming out of his superior's mouth, but the look on his face was genuine for once—although the request to leave the monster stack of papers was a bit fishy. But hearing Komui say he was actually _working_ and not lazing around like usual made Reever cave despite his misgivings.

"Alright, it's good to see you working on _something_ important other than your idiotic Komurins," Reever said, ignoring the hurt, indignant look that appeared on Komui's face.

"They're not idiotic! There's just some kinks in the programming…that's all," Komui whined, throwing his upper body across his desk like he normally did when being forced to do something he didn't want to do.

"Uh-huh," Reever said, completely unconvinced. "Sir, please just get your work done so you can sign these papers." Komui whined as he looked at the tall, towering stacks of paper that were just begging to be lost in the mess on the floor. All it would take was one…little…poke….

"Don't even think about it," Reever growled.

"Think about what?" Komui feigned innocence, as poorly as he always did.

"If I so much as come back to find the stacks diminished and _not signed _and _on the floor_," Reever let his threat dangle in the air, knowing it was probably useless anyways. "I'll be back in about an hour, sir."

"Okay, thank you, Reever!" Komui bowed over his work intently and Reever left the office. He was probably going to regret letting Komui work on this thesis of his.

Reever was probably right.

Komui straightened and chuckled darkly to himself. Thesis indeed, Komui cackled loudly. Well, what he was writing _was_ a thesis, but not one that was necessarily important to the running of the Black Order in any way, shape, or form.

Across the top of the paper in large, scripted letters was the title: "A Thesis on the Subject of Exorcists' Need of Physical Contact." Underneath the main heading in smaller letters were the words: "With Innocence and Other Humans. And underneath _that_ heading in parenthesis: (Preferably with Other Exorcists).

It was something he had noticed over the time the more and more time he spent with Exorcists before he'd become Head Officer and been allowed to see his sister. It was also the reason why the communal bath houses now existed. Komui had learned the time various Exorcists took baths and had—at first—spent _hours_ in the baths, observing other Exorcists.

Komui wasn't a pervert! Most certainly not! It was all for knowledge that he observed the Exorcists in such—eh-hem!—suspiciously lewd settings.

Exorcists never distanced themselves from their weapons unless they absolutely _had_ to. Parasitic Exorcists didn't have this problem, of course. Example, Daisya Barry (his playful antics were sorely missed…God bless his soul) had had the science department make him a sleeping cap and a shower cap with attachments for his Charity Bell. Yuu Kanda kept his bathing time to a short three minutes (and Komui would swear on his precious Komurins that it was getting shorter all the time) and zip back to Mugen as soon as he was dry and not risking Mugen to rusting by water. Noise Marie would have to be reminded to remove his Noel Organon before going to bed. Both Allen Walker and Suman Dark (may God have accepted his soul into heaven) washed predominantly with their Innocence-imbued hands.

Komui had casually asked Lenalee what she did with her Dark Boots before bathing and the answer had been that Lenalee kept them right at the edge of the bath. He didn't dare ask about any of the other female exorcists though, but since the other male Exorcists always brought their Innocence to the bath house (there was a greater number of male than female Exorcists), he concluded that the other females did the same as well.

Exorcists were a touchy-feely bunch. Whether they'd ever admit it or not, the semi-secluded apostles thrived on physical contact more than other humans. Certainly, Kanda would spear him with Mugen and Allen would splutter and blush hotter than fire if Komui were to tell them this to their faces.

Lavi and the female Exorcists had no problem touching another person and were especially open with each other. Allen tended to lean into whoever was touching him slightly (a habit Komui figured that Allen was unaware of) and he was certainly more willing to give physical comfort to whoever needed it. Kanda made up his lack of human contact with a constant hand on Mugen and Komui was eighty-five percent positive that Lavi purposely taunted Kanda to give the oft-cranky swordsman a reason to have contact with his precious sword and also as an excuse to use his own hammer to escape Kanda's wrath. Allen was always trying to (subconscious, no doubt) to have some sort of physical contract with Kanda for one reason or another. Maybe Allen recognized that Kanda was so withdrawn that he didn't have much human contact unless it was from Lavi or Daisya (whom Allen would never get to know) and was trying to give that to him…no matter how fruitless the attempts tended to turn out. Bookman's human contact came thru the acupuncture sessions he gave to Black Order staff members.

Komui looked down on his paper, now filled with his observations and notes on the Exorcists' need for physical contacts with human and Innocence. He flipped the paper over and twiddled with his quill over the paper, wondering what to write next and recalled that lately, Allen had shown up in the mornings with a sort of silly little grin and that often, the Exorcists would balance his head on his Innocence-imbued hand and rub the back of his neck.

"_Noooo, Kanda! You don't understand!_" Komui blinked…speaking of the Crowned Clown…was that Allen's voice he heard? "_It's wasn't like that! Really! Crown's just…!_" Komui's brow lifted. Crown? As in the Crowned Clown?

"_Just what?_" Kanda's voice said. Komui would swear the swordsman was embarrassed or something. "_If you try and tell me I didn't see what I saw when I came to get you__ for your mission__, I'll _castrate you!" Komui's eyebrows rose even higher as the two Exorcists came into view. Kanda had Allen's upper arm in a tight grip and Allen wasn't struggling _that_ hard to get away.

"Why so cranky, Kanda? Didn't you already have your daily dose of soba this morning?" Komui asked cheerily.

"Shuddup," Kanda dragged the younger Exorcist and forcibly sat Allen down on the coffee and tea-stained couch that was in front of Komui's paper-laden desk and. Allen was pale and blushing at the same time, legs crossing. The young General picked at the material of his pants and refused to look at anyone or anything for more than a moment.

"You normally have more respect for your superiors, Kanda," Komui stated.

"Oh, please, he's still just a 'moyashi'," Kanda scoffed, glaring down at the younger male. "Tell him!" Allen spluttered helplessly.

"It _really _wasn't like that," Allen whined helplessly, wild silver eyes open wide as they finally settled on Komui. "Kanda just barged into my room at the wrong time and—."

"Oh-ho!" Komui grinned maniacally, leaning forwards across his desk eagerly. "A secret lover, perhaps? Not as innocent as you look, eh, Allen-chan!" Allen turned so red that his cursed scar mark was nearly lost in the blush.

"No," Kanda retorted. "His _Innocence_ isn't as innocent as it's _named_." Allen paled underneath the blush and seemed to want nothing less than sink into the couch and become a drink stain. Komui blinked…and blinked again.

"Pardon?" It was then that Komui noticed that Allen's left arm was missing, the sleeve limp in its absence, but that the Crowned Clown's cloak wasn't present as it was normally during Invocation. "Allen, where's your arm?" Allen squeaked.

"Crown's in my room…probably…uh, never mind," Allen said, eyes riveted on the entrance to Komui's office, which was really just a space in the library that was sectioned off by a semi-circle of bookshelves… the threshold was where the pile of papers stopped. Komui blinked as something—a fog?—rolled into his office and began to swirl around the room angrily, stirring up the papers and it was only because Komui slapped a hand down on his paper that his thesis wasn't lost to the whirlwind like the rest of the much more important papers on his desk.

Reever wasn't going to be happy in the least.

The fog condensed and took a solid shape—first the Crowned Clown's cloak and then a body. Komui stared in astonishment at Crown's form as it marched over to Kanda and slugged the Exorcist across the jaw, sending Kanda reeling backwards onto the floor.

So _that's_ what the floor looked like! Soon, though, the paper began to settle back down, hiding the once-in-a-lifetime view.

"Crown!" Allen leaped up from the couch and locked his arm around his enraged Innocence's waist. "Stop that! Apologize to Kanda!" The glare from Crown's dark colored eyes (the Innocence looked _nothing_ like its Accommodator at all) told Komui—and more importantly, Allen—that Crown wasn't going to anything of the sort. Kanda snarled, standing up and pulling out one of the two swords of Mugen's reconstructed form and pointed it at the offending Crowned Clown.

"Crown…," Allen whined. "Please?" Crown looked away, huffing and threading a hand thru Allen's hair. Light flashed dangerously off of Komui's glasses and a wide grin appeared on his face. This was going to be such good material for his thesis!

"He really is sorry, Kanda," Allen said, turning to the irate swordsman. Mugen was now pointing at Allen. Crown snarled silently at Kanda, bringing Mugen back to focus on it. Allen sighed and burrowed his face into Crown's side. "Crown…."

Yes, Exorcists were definitely touchy-feely, but so, it seemed, were the Innocence needing of their Accommodator's touch. Perhaps the case with the Crowned Clown with Allen was more necessary. Komui watched the Innocence caress its—his Accommodator's hair with a tender expression. A tiny smile flitted over Komui's face and he turned his gaze to Kanda to give the pair some measure of privacy, who was looking flustered and his eyes were locked on the ceiling.

_'__Noooo, Kanda! You don't understand! __It's wasn't like that! Really! Crown's just…!__'_

_'__It _really_ wasn't like that__Kanda just barged into my room at the wrong time and—.__'_

_'__Oh-ho!__A secret lover, perhaps? Not as innocent as you look, eh, Allen-chan!__'_

_'No,__h__is Innocence isn't as innocent as it's named.__'_

Komui grinned maniacally behind his hand. So _that's _what had happened.

"Hehe, Allen. Are you and your dear Crowned Clown in a secret relationship?" Komui teased in a sing-song tone of voice.

"_What!?_" Allen's head snapped up and around with an audible snap. Allen groaned at the crick he'd given himself. The Crowned Clown's fingers began massaging Allen's neck and it—he (what gender specification did one give a living weapon?) regarded the Head Officer of the Black Order with an even, cool gaze.

"But it's not—," Allen protested.

"Then why the _hell_ was it _kissing_ you!" Kanda roared, eyes falling from the ceiling to the General. Komui's quill fell to the desk with an all-too audible clack from limp fingers. Kissing…? That would explain the silly grins in the morning. Allen was high on his Innocence's affections.

Oh yes, this would make wonderful material for his thesis.

"I swear," Allen wailed, shooting panicked looks at the two humans in the room. "It _wasn't_ _**like**_ that! Crown's affectionate like that. It's not like I mind and it's not like its _wrong_ or anything." The Crowned Clown shifted slightly, tilting its head slightly and then dissolving into fog and reattaching itself to Allen's shoulder. Allen looked vaguely confused as to why his Innocence had done so, but then Reever walked into the room. The scientist stopped and stared blankly at the office. Crown's earlier arrival had scattered not only papers, but books from the shelves as well.

"The _hell…_?" Reever gaped.

"I-it's not Komui's fault!" Allen cried, waving his hands defensively. "It's Crown and Kanda's! Kanda kidnapped me from my room and Crown got mad and made a mess of things…. I—I'll help clean up if you want!"

"Hey! Don't put any blame on me!" The swordsman snarled, thrusting Mugen dangerously close to Allen's neck. The Exorcist 'eep'-ed and cowered, using the couch as a sort of sheild.

"No, no, Allen, you have your first solo mission as a General! That comes…," Komui said…paused…and realized that the mission reports had been blown away. "Oh, Reever, can you go run off a copy of Allen's missions. It'll be faster than trying to find it in this mess." The pages inside the mission folder were all loose leaf anyways.

"What the hell?" Reever stated, too stunned at the devastation created by a pissed off Innocence to really take in what was being said to him.

"Re-Reever?" Allen stuttered, lowering his hands to his sides.

"Komui!" The Section Chief snapped out of his daze and glared darkly at the man.

"B-bu-bu-but!" Komui trembled, fake tears welling up in his eyes before he burst out into loud sobs. "Re-Reever, it wasn't my fault, really!"

"Really, it isn't his fault!" Allen said, pleadingly.

"Allen, don't try to get this guy out of trouble," Reever sighed, moving to clean up what he could—being the books. Reever picked up Allen's mission folder and grimaced. "I'll get a new copy. We'll never find the originals in this mess."

"But Mr. Reever, it wasn't Komui's fault," Allen tried again, picking up a few books himself and holding onto them until the Australian scientist was able to reshelf them. "It's all Crown and Kanda's fault."

"I told you to leave me out of this, Moyashi!" Kanda snarled. The swordsman sheathed Mugen and stalked from the chaos of Komui's office in rage and embarrassment.

"Kanda kidnapped me from my room," Allen continued in a low voice. "Crown got angry with Kanda and he caused the mess when he got here."

"Your Innocence…?" Reever glanced down at the Exorcist's left arm. "How?"

"He can take a form when he wants to…by separating from me," Allen ducked his head, hiding behind the books in his arms shyly. "He returned to me when you came. He heard you coming."

"They were so cute!" Komui gushed, grinning. "Crown was being all cuddly with its Accommodator! It really socked Kanda pretty hard." Reever looked baffled. Allen just blushed hard. Groaning, the Australian scientist just shook his head and continued to put the books back on the shelf.

"Tell me all this later when I have some more coffee in my stomach," Reever said heavily. "Right now, Komui, you might as well brief Allen on his mission. I'll take those, Allen. Don't worry about it. Crazy stuff is always happening anyways. This is just one more thing to add to the list."

"I don't think this kind of crazy counts…," Allen trailed off, handing Reever the books and making his way back to the couch. Komui immediately launched into a memorized script of Allen's mission, grinning all the while.

This was great! Not only did have more material for his thesis, but he could see that an entire _paper_ could be written on Allen! What should he call that one? Oh, he knew!

The main heading would be: 'A Study of the Relationship between General Exorcist Allen Walker and his Innocence.' Underneath that heading would be: 'Allen Walker and the Crowned Clown.'

Perfect.


	5. Sounds

**Disclaimer:**I don't own D.Gray-Man. The only license I own is the free creative license. 

In which characters are affiliated with sounds instead of smells and touch. I had fun with this; I'll be honest, though it was said. Kanda may be slightly out of character, but to me, he does seem more open around his fellow apprentices and to an extent, his Master Tiedoll. Those are my perceptions at least.

Here's the submission form for prompts I promised last chapter. Depending on how many prompts are sent in will decide if I want anymore next chapter.

**PROMPT SHEET**

**Characters:** (no more than three)

**Keywords:** (only two words)

**Genre:** (So I know where you might want me to go with the ficlet) points to rating of "Collections" That means I will not write anything too violent or too graphic.

**Summary: **Marie identified his comrades, as he did everything else, by their sounds. It wasn't until he met up with Kanda that Marie realized he couldn't hear the sound of bells any more.

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**Sounds**

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_Za-zazatt_—"_What is seems_," Marie gazed worriedly in the direction of his golem.

"_Huh? What did you say?_" Kanda's voice came in clear thru the golem. Kanda was always more vocal when on missions with Daisya and Marie—particularly missions with Daisya.

"The line on your end is bad, Daisya," Marie said worriedly.

"_Geez, my radio Golem's been acting up lately,_" Daisya grumbled.

"_What are your locations?_" Kanda asked, not the demanding tone of voice he used with others.

"_Maybe three kilometers of a large, weird tower,_" Daisya said. Marie listened to the landscape around him, powerful sound waves beyond the range of human hearing were sent out by his golem to bounce off the various houses and other buildings, allowing Marie to build up a picture in his mind's eyes.

"_I think I'm five kilometers west of said place,_" he finally answered. The building that Daisya had mentioned was not only strange in design, but had strange sounds as well.

"_Che. I'm south,_" Kanda growled, as if the distances between the three Exorcists were some personal insult. Marie smiled. It probably was.

"_Looks like it'll be a long night_," Daisya sighed dramatically.

"I can hear the Akuma's noise everywhere…," he murmured. "We've entered their territory."

"_Let's rally. Since we're within ten kilometers of each other, our golems can trace each other._"

"_Fine, Kanda and I'll meet with you, old man Marie,_" Daisya said, static blurring his voice, although not enough for Marie to have trouble hearing Daisya's words. Marie ignored the younger male's words.

"The time?" Marie asked.

"_By dawn,_" Kanda said. Silence fell between the three Exorcists and Marie turned to face the onslaught of Akuma that were hiding around the corner.

"Noel Organon!" Thin strings of sound erupted into the air, becoming visible for a moment, and curled around his fingers so that he could direct the sounds to slice thru the Akuma like they were made of only water vapor. Marie made his way out into the open, wincing as his golem sound waves went off into empty sky. Marie didn't like open spaces. It was harder to hear objects that were free floating—unless they were Akuma. He could hear the sounds of Kanda and Daisya thru the golem—Kanda's cold efficiency and Daisya's chilling playfulness.

Marie identified his comrades, as he did everything else, by their sounds. He had been born blind and learned everything by sound and texture; though mostly by sound. The color red sounded like fire, the color blue sounded like water, and so on and so forth. Even foods had a sound.

Kanda was a distant waterfall, a silent roar that became louder the closer you were until it was a deafening roar because you were right there next to it—in which case you had invaded Kanda's personal space and he had Mugen at your throat and he was screaming insults in your face. The intensity of those assaults depended on how close you were to the waterfall. Not even the few who dared to test Kanda's barriers ever stepped directly _into_ the falling, pounding water.

Daisya was a clamor of mismatching bells and of course, Daisya's Charity Bell. The Charity Bell should have acted like a cow bell and make future prank victims aware of his presence, but it didn't and Marie full-well knew that no Exorcist ever let their weapon out of sight, much less out of reach. Maybe Daisya's Innocence made itself silent because it was as mischievous as its Accommodator.

Marie tilted his head, inkling it towards his golem. For a moment, he had thought he had heard a new sound—the sound of whispering cloth and the flap of tiny wings—but he decided that it was just his imagination when he didn't hear the sound again.

"_…Killing you…will be fun…_," Marie's head spun so fast that he got a crick in his neck. There was the sound of bells, tiny wings, and…and the sound of creeping death. The static from Daisya's golem was getting worse.

"_Huh? Did you say something?_" Marie could hear the hidden worry lancing thru Kanda's voice.

"Daisya?" Marie frowned worriedly. The static had finally made everything to difficult to hear on Daisya's end. He drew in a deep breath and continued forwards because there was nothing else he could at the moment.

It wasn't until he met up with Kanda that Marie realized he couldn't hear the sound of bells any more.

The night had become silent. The Akuma were either all dead or had retreated. He could hear the tiny, pulsing beats of hearts from small animals that had managed to survive and were still frightened by the recent violence.

The dawn came with the sound of crinkling bed sheets thrown aside and the sound of clothing being changed from nightwear to daywear. With it came the sound of flapping mechanical wings.

"It's Daisya's golem," he announced. But the sound of bells was absent. The waterfall had been dammed up somewhere, Marie realized, noting how silent Kanda seemed to even as the sound of Kanda's boots echoed over the stone when he moved to meet the golem. Marie could see the image of Kanda catching the golem in his hands and holding it for a moment, but he couldn't hear the roaring waters.

The waterfall had come to a halt somewhere upriver. But eventually, Marie knew, the water would break over the dam and crash down the river harder than before and anything that was in the way would be shattered up against boulders and rocky ledges and then sent over the waterfall to be completely crushed against the shallow bottom.

Kanda released the golem and it began flying back to where it had left Daisya. The only sounds Marie could hear as the two of them walked were their boots.

"The hell…," Kanda said weakly, turning the final corner. Marie didn't even have to turn the corner to get a picture of Daisya's body. Their comrade had been crucified to a lamppost, upside down with chains. Marie cringed as the dam broke and Kanda burst into a litany of swear words and heard the raging waters crash down over the falls—only there were no victims because Daisya's killer was long gone.

Kanda stormed over to Daisya's body and broke the chains, catching the stockier male with a grunt. Marie came up behind Kanda as the younger boy furiously tore off the chains from their comrade's body, breathing hard, teeth gritted tiredly.

Kanda might play the uncaring bastard and to an extent, he was uncaring…but it was also Kanda being Kanda and Kanda was extremely thick, tactless, and the younger male possessed such a one-track mind that it was difficult for him to see beyond the assignment written down on paper.

"We need to get his body to the Finders," Marie said finally. He had focused himself on the pitiful sight of Daisya's golem flying between Daisya and the other two Exorcists as its programming told it to do. The little mechanical wings sounded so sad to Marie, like it was mourning Daisya's death as well.

Kanda nodded and gathered Daisya in his arms bridal style. Marie thought he could hear water somewhere, but the sound was faint and if there was water around, there wasn't much of it. Besides, it wasn't like Kanda would be crying after all.

"His Charity Bell is gone," Kanda whispered; his voice low in grief and so not to accidently bombard Marie's Innocence-heightened hearing. "And I don't know what killed him. There aren't many injuries on his body…and none of them are even close to fatal. There's an odd ring-shaped bruise on his chest…." Marie heard confusion vibrate from Kanda's body. Marie rested a hand on Kanda's shoulder lightly, only to have it shaken off a few moments later.

As they walked, Marie thought he could hear the sounds of an animal feeding close by. The sound remained with them until they had left Daisya's body at the Finder's Headquarters. When they left, it was raining.

Kanda stopped walking as soon as the city was out of sight. Marie could hear Kanda's grief pounding down the waterfall.

"We've got to catch up to our Master," Marie said. "You know how fast he is." Marie had long since identified their Master with the sounds of charcoal pencil running over paper. Even when their Master wasn't sketching or painting, the sound never quite went away even after months of separation were between Master and Apprentice. Marie would hear Master Tiedoll long before the echolocation feature of his golem and Innocence allowed him to picture the man in his mind.

"I know," Kanda said. "Shuddup." Marie quieted obediently and waited for Kanda to start walking and take the lead. Marie noted that he couldn't hear the waterfall very well, like it was very far away although he was standing right next to Kanda. He had to wonder when…or if…the sound of the waterfall would be normal again.


	6. Atypical Day Out

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _D.Gray-Man_. Seiko and Quill are mine, though. I adore Seiko; she was my first creation for _D.Gray-Man_. Quill's still kind of a new character.

Hah, I'm purposely ignoring plot. I wrote something that would never happen, but I don't care. I'm going to have some Christmas specials that tie into "Atypical Day Out" later on, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day...assuming I can find a place with WiFi those days. If not, then they'll show up a bit late.

**Summary: **Everyone was completely out of character that day, but the war had taken its toll on both Exorcist and Noah and this was probably the only time any of them would ever have to completely ignore Destiny and tell Fate to go screw itself. This was a day that not even the Bookmen would record.

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**Atypical**** Day Out**

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Christmas was the favorite holiday of everyone (well…almost everyone) in the Black Order. There were no missions during the winter months—supposedly because of bad traveling conditions which wouldn't pose a problem any other time of the year—and the Generals came Home (even Cross Marian made an effort to come Home—to Allen's horror). The Finders were sent into town in droves for decorations and in search for several of the largest Christmas trees that could be found. These would be put up in the dining hall.

For the Order, this year's Christmas was going to be especially exciting because of Allen's birthday. It would be a double celebration that year and poor Allen was completely clueless of his co-workers intentions. Cross had gotten wind of this and had warned Komui to keep the birthday party small. He'd always given Allen space on those two days.

Kanda _hated_ Christmas, because it meant that he was stuck inside the walls of Headquarters with no Akuma to vent his frustrations on. The irate Exorcist did not see the point of the holiday and it was only because of his General that Kanda found himself shopping with his fellow Exorcists.

Lenalee loved Christmas because it was the one time of the year where all of her 'family' was together. Everyone was safe and sound. Although they had lost precious friends that year, they had new 'family' members and had made more friends. She was the one who delighted the most in the Exorcist outing for Christmas shopping.

Lavi had never had a reason to enjoy Christmas before he'd been assigned the persona of 'Lavi', but even his hidden heart had grown to love the season. Lavi knew that Bookman had come to enjoy the season as well, for Lavi received fewer kicks to the head that month (although he tended to have twice as many in January). He was thrilled to learn that Kanda would have no choice but to join them for Christmas shopping.

To Allen, Christmas was when Mana had found and adopted him and in a twist of fate, it was also the day that Mana had given him the curse. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were Allen's mourning days. It was with a heavy heart that he joined the others for their day out in town. Exorcist uniforms were left behind and exchanged for ordinary winter coats, snow boots, gloves and scarves.

The enthusiasm from most of the Exorcists quickly caught on and Allen was soon smiling like normal and even Kanda found himself unable to give his usual scathing remarks (although he was still very Mugen-happy). The Exorcists gradually split up into groups. Cross and Cloud took their leave (Allen sending smoldering glares at his Master's back) and Tiedoll managed to get Sokaro to accompany him, Maire, and Choaji. Lavi clung to Kanda and forced the irritable Exorcist to stay with him, Allen, and Lenalee. Miranda, Krory, and Bookman headed off into their own groups.

Allen, Lavi, Kanda, and Lenalee came across a group of children building snowmen and Lavi eagerly joined in, dragging Lenalee and Allen into the fun. Kanda stood to the side impatiently until a snowball hit the back of his head. However, Kanda found that the perpetrator was Allen, not Lavi like it had been for the past several years.

"Get back here so I can cut your head off, you damn Moyashi!" Kanda screamed, chasing Allen with a bared Mugen.

"Watch your mouth around the kids, jerk!" Allen called back, grinning maniacally as he scooped up another pile of the soft white stuff and formed it into a hard ball of frozen water. Kanda ducked the projectile, pausing, which gave Allen time to make another snowball. "You need to lighten up, Kanda!"

"That's black Allen…I don't wanna get involved," Lavi murmured, shivering as he remembered the poker incident on the train. "He stole my act…."

"He's going to get hurt," Lenalee breathed, violet eyes wide. Kanda quickly realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere near Allen as long as the other Exorcist was throwing snowballs. Kanda swore again—although in Japanese and Allen quickly chastised the swordsman in his own language.

"They don't understand Japanese, idiot!" Kanda snarled, bending down and scooping up some snow, coping Allen's motions and forming a compact ball of snow.

"That doesn't mean you can curse just because they don't understand, you meanie!" Allen skidded to a halt in the snow, jumping over the low-thrown snowball.

"Hey! I've been trying to get Yuu-chan to join in on snowball fight for years!" Lavi gasped in shock. A snowball hit the Bookman-in-training hard in the face. Lavi spluttered indignantly and spotted a smirking Kanda as the villain. Allen was laughing, pointing at Lavi until Lenalee threw her own snowball at Allen, knocking him over because he was already unbalanced from laughing so hard.

The four Exorcists engaged in the snowball fight of the century, the children supplying ammo for rapidly firing hands. Two braver children even attached themselves to Kanda. The kids were enjoying the game although they couldn't participate themselves for the Exorcists were throwing snowballs hard enough to break windows—which was the precise reason that they had to call an abrupt halt to the game. Exorcist and child scattered, although Lavi was caught by the old woman whose window had been victimized by said redhead.

After Lavi had put in an order for a new window and patched up the hole, the children went home. The Exorcists found a small cozy shop where they all ordered hot chocolate or coffee. They just sat around the table and talked (although Kanda was silent for the most part). The shop bell rang as people arrived and departed. One such ring heralded the arrival of a group of unexpected people.

"Ahhh! Allen!" A small humanoid projectile with spiky hair tackled Allen's chair, nearly tipping both over onto the floor. "This is so cool! Uncle Tyki! Allen is here, too!"

"Rh-Rhode!" Allen caught the condensed body of hyperactive activity that was the result from several pounds too many sweets this month. The silver-haired Exorcist blinked in astonishment as the First Child clambered up into his lap and sat there like this was completely normal.

"Rhode, should you be doing that?" Tyki asked, carefully placing three large sacks on the ground.

"It's _Christmastime_," Rhode whined plaintively, leaning back into Allen, locking her arms behind Allen's head. "Not even our family does anything…_bad_ this time of year." Her tone implicated that nothing her family did was bad, but was just saying so for the Exorcists' benefits.

"I think my coffee just rotted in my stomach," Kanda muttered. Lavi discreetly kicked the swordsman.

"Don't start anything, Kanda," Lenalee said pleadingly.

"Che." That was Kanda-speak for 'whatever'.

"So what brings you guys to town?" Lavi questioned.

"Christmas shopping," Tyki answered, thieving a chair from another table to sit in.

"So, even you guys celebrate Christmas?" Allen asked, still slightly dazed over the fact that Rhode Kamelot was sitting in his lap and _not_ trying to kill him.

"Yep," Tyki nodded. "We've ditched the twins with Quill and Seiko…for a while at least. Seiko will smell us out in no time. It probably won't be much longer."

"Who?" Lenalee asked politely, an uneasy smile on her face.

"Quill and Seiko are family," Rhode chirped. "Uncle Tyki, I want hot chocolate, too! With peppermint!"

"Coming, coming," Tyki reached over to pat his fellow Noah's hair and went up to the counter to order.

"Hey, Allen!" Rhode bent over the bags and began digging thru them. "I got you a gift! I wasn't sure how I was going to get it too you though…." Rhode's face fell for a moment, but the girl quickly brightened. "But that's solved now!" The girl rose with two gifts in hands. She pushed a small box covered in red and silver paper secured by a decorative tie with an ornate black cross on the center. Allen took the box quietly and watched as Rhode bounced over to Lenalee.

"I got one for you, too, Lenalee!" The girl smiled in delight when the Exorcist slowly accepted the gift and laughed joyously. "Don't open them until Christmas!" Allen's hand jerked away from the tie guiltily. He smiled slightly and let Rhode back into his lap.

Tyki returned with two cups of steaming liquid. He set Rhode's drink down in front of her. The little girl picked up the cup gingerly.

"Blow!" Rhode ordered Allen. The silver-haired Exorcist obliged and Rhode carefully sipped at her drink.

"We ought to play a game of poker," Tyki suggested suddenly. "We'll probably never get the chance again."

"Sure!" Allen readily agreed, his lips twitching into a smirk.

"Eh-he, no thanks," Lavi backed out, the memory of Allen playing poker against Tyki on the train still fresh in his mind.

"I don't know how to play," Lenalee said.

"We can teach you," Allen and Tyki said simultaneously.

"I don't advise it, Lenalee," Lavi warned.

"Wanna play, Kanda?" Allen asked.

"You've got to be kidding me," the swordsman scoffed.

"What," Allen smirked. "Too scared to play?" Kanda's brow twitched.

"Fine," Kanda growled. "I'll play."

"You don't—," Lavi protested. Kanda swung his fist at the redheaded Bookman, who ducked the blow expertly.

"We'll teach him too," Tyki and Allen chorused again. Tyki had pulled out a deck and was shuffling the cards expertly. The group settled down and the poker pros began explaining the game. Rhode moved to Lavi's lap, since Allen was busy playing cards with Tyki, Lenalee, and Kanda.

Five games (and one very pissed Kanda) later, a girl with violently green eyes and black hair stormed into the coffee shop. Her violet clothing accented the same color that the light made her hair shine.

"You _jerks!_ You ditched me with those _meaningless_ twins!" The girl pointed accusingly at Tyki and glared at Rhode. "I _hate_ them!"

"Don't be so mad, Seiko," Tyki cowered under the girl's gaze, laughing nervously.

"I ought to skewer you," the Japanese Noah snarled. "Those _pointless_ twits nearly drove me to jump off a roof!"

"Where's Quill?" Rhode asked, completely unperturbed by Seiko's violent attitude.

"I ditched _him_," Seiko answered flatly.

"Hypocrite," Tyki said sharply.

"_Quill_ doesn't hate the twins like I do," Seiko snarled, as if that justified her actions.

"How about I order you a drink to make up for it," Tyki suggested, lying his cards down on the table.

"What's the point? You or me, the money comes from the same account," Seiko snapped, refusing to be pacified.

"It's not where the money comes from, it's the spirit of my offer," Tyki argued.

"Shut up and go get me a coffee—black, completely black," Seiko grabbed a chair and placed it between Lenalee and Kanda's chairs.

"Don't come near me," Kanda threatened.

"Oh shut up," Seiko shot back. Tyki returned with Seiko's coffee and the games started anew. They had barely started the game when a shadow (all too familiar to Allen) loomed over them.

"Hey," Cross' voice was soft…dangerous. Allen squeaked and sank into seat. Cloud hovered behind, watching warily. "Deal me in." Allen nearly fell out of his seat in relief. Surprised flickered over Cloud's face, but she too joined the far-too crowded table after placing an order for a drink.

When they were joined by the Noah called Quill (a serious man with short brown hair and reddish-brown eyes) and the rambunctious Jasdebi three games later, Lavi and Cloud dragged another table over. Somehow, the other Exorcists and a large portion of the Noah family had all crowded into the small shop. Quill had shifted his responsibility of the Jasdebi pair on a Noah that seemed too sick to be outside (Jasdero and Debitto were quick to calm down next to this sibling of theirs). Krory, Lavi, Bookman, and Quill were having a quiet conversation amongst themselves. Seiko had peeled off to her own corner with Rhode, Lulubell, Cloud, Miranda and Lenalee. Allen, Tyki, and Cross were still playing a heated game of poker, cheating left and right now that it was just the three of them (the first to be found cheating would pick up the remaining tab).

Kanda had been dragged to another table with Marie, Choaji, and his Master ('family' bonding time, the old coot had said). Skin Boric and Sokaro Winters were having arm wrestles. Everyone was completely out of character that day, but the war had taken its toll on both Exorcist and Noah and this was probably the only time any of them would ever have to completely ignore Destiny and tell Fate to go screw itself. This was a day that not even the Bookmen would record.

When Noah and Exorcist returned to their respective homes—gift-laden (and in Tyki's case, debt-laden as well), they were in high spirits. Lenalee and Allen hid their gifts from Rhode in their pockets, both reluctant to doubt the day's goodwill.

"Did you have a good day?" The same sentence was said by both Komui and the Earl.

Both received a chorus of 'yeses' or grunts in reply.

"Good, dinner is ready," Komui and the Earl said to their families. "After dinner, we can decorate!"


	7. Heart's End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _D.Gray-Man_, Hoshino Katsura does.

I'm growing mushrooms in a corner. Come back to get vengeance later.

2stupid, I swear I'm working on the prompt you gave me…. It's not done yet, but since I'll be vanishing for a little while (due to a lack of Internet connection because of moving off campus to my grandparents' place) it won't show up for a little while. That gives you the right to gripe at me if any one thing is out of place (but don't really).

This piece was written before "A Thesis on the Subject of Exorcists' Need of Physical Contact" so Crown has a different appearance than It does in that ficlet or in "The Schism of Noah". I don't feel like changing it, because at the time, "The Schism of Noah" didn't exactly exist just then.

**Summary: **The curse mark that had been given to Allen by his adoptive father had faded, although a faint imprint could be seen. Allen was no longer cursed.

**Prompt Sheet  
****Characters (3 max):  
****Keywords (2 max):  
****Genre:**

* * *

**Heart's End**

* * *

"Don't give me that look." General Exorcist Allen Walker watched his Innocence. "You know this is the only way to _finally_ end this." The Crowned Clown gave him an unhappy frown from Its corner, but It nodded in reluctant agreement. Allen stood up from his bed (queen-sized compared to the twin-sized bed of the lower ranked Exorcists) and walked over to the Crowned Clown.

It took a form that was three or four inches taller and It looked mostly like Its chosen Accommodator: brown hair and Its eyes were a fierce, protective green behind the mask that was their 'crown'. It bore no curse mark; that belonged to Allen alone. Something such as Itself had no right to bear a curse mark.

Its _precious _Accommodator, It reminded itself fiercely, reaching out and pulling Allen into Its arms. The Crown nuzzled into the Clown. It loved Allen. It hurt to know what was going to happen…but that was Its fate as a conscious Innocence. To know and hurt on a level the other Innocence could not.

"I know," Allen murmured with soft breaths against his Crown's neck. The boy General willingly relaxed into the hold, holding onto his Innocence with his right arm. The Crowned Clown manifested itself via the sword Allen's left arm created. "Let's go now."

The Crowned Clown breathed softly against the soft silver hair that spiked under Its power. It transformed back into a sword and Allen reattached It to his body.

It was late at night and no one would be up for hours after the hard parting. Three years after the defeat of the Clan of Noah and the Earl, the Exorcists had _finally _destroyed the last of Akuma. Plans would be made to recover the remaining Innocence.

At least, that was what they were planning for.

Allen trailed thru the halls of Home, stopping at the doors of his fellow Generals (even his Master Cross had come Home to celebrate in the long awaited victory one last time before he vanished for the last time). Or maybe, he'd come Home to spend a last view hours with his sole, idiot apprentice (wishful thinking, Allen mused). Cross had always been aware of things that could get him into serious trouble with the Order. Allen wouldn't be too shocked if Cross had at least _suspected_ the coming events.

Allen traversed the other levels, taking his time. After all, no one would wake up for a long time. Allen stopped by Lenalee's door. She'd be cruelly affected by his choices. He touched her door and whispered a soft apology for leaving her behind. The next door Allen paused at belonged to one of his own students.

He remembered how uncertain he'd been as a teacher. The Crowned Clown remembered too. Uncertain he could teach—uncertain if he had anything _to_ teach—Allen had made so mistakes with this first one. This student had suffered the worst of Allen's mistakes and Allen felt like he had learned more than he had taught, really.

On Allen went, touching the doors of those precious to him and whispering soft apologies to them. He was leaving them all behind and perhaps, it was selfish of him. He could justify himself by telling himself that if Innocence remained in the world, their Accommodators and the Innocence itself would only suffer. He could see it in his head; they would be forced to fight in wars where the Innocence would be demoralized. As younger Accommodators tended to be more common than older Accommodators, the young would be put into positions where they shouldn't be as though it couldn't be helped.

No, it was time to go.

Allen had lived for Akuma. There were no more Akuma. His time was up and Allen was ready to leave this world for the next one…whatever that world might be. Hopefully, it would be the same world as Mana.

Allen paused at the door that led to Lavi's room. The one next to Lavi's would belong to the twins that Lavi had made his own apprentices. Bookman had died in battle shortly after naming Lavi capable to continue the line of Bookman. After that was Krory and Miranda's quarters. Both had grown significantly over the years. While they would probably always be social inept, they'd become more confident and in Miranda's case, not so suicidal. Allen hoped that Miranda would find someone else to look to.

Chaoji's room was next. Allen regretted that he had never quite bridged the gap caused by Allen's want to rescue Tyki all those years ago, but the regret faded quickly. What had happened happened and there was nothing Allen could do about it.

The boy General continued onwards, stopping in front of Kanda's room. It had been empty for two years now. The two of them had never seen eye to eye although their antagonism quieted down into silent respect for the other's differences in values and strengths in battle.

"Maybe I'll see you soon, Kanda. Until then, perhaps," Allen whispered softly, turning from the door and moving onwards.

Allen walked past the rooms of the science departments, quietly asking for Komui's forgiveness for what he was about to do, the pain and confusion he was about to impart on everyone.

No one was awake and he ran into no one, which was fine. It'd only cause problems.

Allen activated the elevator and it moved down silently, as if acknowledging the Exorcist's need for quietness.

The Grand Generals weren't around. Allen didn't expect them to be. It would have made matters inordinately difficult for him if any of them had been around.

"Allen," Hevlaska said. Her great shining body was almost too bright. Allen sat with a thump onto the elevator's floor and looked up at the other Exorcist.

"Hevlaska," Allen replied.

"It is time, isn't it?" Allen nodded in answer to Hevlaska's question.

"You've always known, didn't you," Allen asked. "You've always known you were the Heart. I'm surprised no one figured it out. You are the keeper of Innocence, the one who has a connection with all other fragments and can sense the bonds between Accommodator and Innocence."

"If anyone else had known, the Earl would have come to know as well," Hevlaska said darkly. She lowered her face to Allen's, gently touching foreheads in a show of quiet affection. "We've waited for you…for so long, but surely It cannot stand for this."

"Crown hates this, but It understands," Allen smiled sadly, holding his left arm close to him.

"It loves you," the Exorcist said knowingly.

Allen didn't answer.

"What are you going to do with the Ark?" Hevlaska asked curiously.

"It has presets that will tell it to go somewhere quiet and self-destruct," Allen answered easily. "I've transferred Timcanpy's ownership back to Cross…." That had been a piece of unnecessary information, but he felt like he had to say it anyways. The two sat there quietly, relaxing in each other's company. Finally, Allen reached up and pressed his right hand to Hevlaska's forehead.

The great Exorcist began disappearing and soon, Allen held the Heart of Innocence in his palm. Other Innocence lay around him, destined to be dust. Without regrets, Allen retuned upstairs and back to his room. When he arrived there, he felt as if he were suddenly tired. The weight of what he was going to was now beginning to crush him.

"Crown," Allen whispered in agony. He pulled the sword free from his shoulder and collapsed into Crown reassuringly solid form. Crown guided him to the bed and just held Allen.

Allen wanted to spend the last moments with his Innocence like this, curled in Its protective embrace.

Allen clenched his fist around the Heart…and crushed it.

* * *

Allen was discovered after the general pandemonium and confusion was reigned in and control had been reestablished. It was Lavi who had realized that their youngest General wasn't present and went to shake the boy out of bed. 

Instead, Lavi came back to the dining hall with a lifeless Allen cradled in his arms. Allen was wearing the garb of the Crowned Clown, the mask glinting with the artificial light. Lavi stood before Komui, a grim look on his face.

Komui stepped forwards, gently touching the mask with shaking fingers, as if the mask might break and dissolve into dust. But it didn't. The mask rested on the crown of Allen's head, just above the line of black crosses that had bled and were now trails of caked red tears.

It was like the Innocence was telling them: 'Everything's alright now. This is how it was supposed to be.' The curse mark that had been given to Allen by his adoptive father had faded, although a faint imprint could be seen. Allen was no longer cursed.

But not everything was okay; Komui took in a deep ragged breath and looked up at Lavi and saw tears that mirrored his own. Allen had touched the hearts of them all, even the iced-over heart of the late Kanda Yuu.

Allen's dead, Lavi was saying silently. Not everything is alright anymore.


	8. Noah Family Christmas Eve

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man. Never will either.

**Summary:** "Uncle Tyki, think that Allen and Lenalee will like my gifts?" Rhode whispered, although it was hardly a secret that Rhode had given two Exorcists Christmas gifts this year.

Okay, this was put up with a minimum of editing. Meaning just the Spell Check device and that isn't very thorough. sweatdrops Anyways, enjoy! Hope you guys don't mind Seiko and Quill too much.

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**Noah Family Christmas Eve**

* * *

Rhode put her gifts for her family under the tree (chosen by the Earl, Lulubell, and Tyki because no one else in the family could be trusted to not start a war over what tree was better), although Jesdebi's presents had been given to the Earl for him to hide. Those two would open their gifts early if they were put under the tree.

"Hey, Seiko, did you put your gifts under the tree yet?" Rhode turned to her sister, who was sitting sideways in Tyki's chair reading some novel she'd pilfered from Quill's room.

" No," Seiko said. "Didn't get anyone anything."

"What! Where's your Christmas spirit?" Rhode demanded.

"The Japanese don't celebrate Christmas, therefore, don't have one," Seiko said, never once looking away from the novel.

"Aw…." Rhode pouted and glared at Seiko until the other Noah had to look at Rhode.

"The unholy fat man said if I wasn't going to buy gifts, to buy stocking stuff," Seiko admitted. "Happy?"

"Yes! Stop calling the Earl names," Rhode ran to where her stocking (a large gothic Lolita doll with a hold in the back of its neck and an inner lining sowed for a pouch) hung above the fireplace.

"I call him whatever I want freaky demon child," Seiko said.

"I'm telling on you when the Earl comes home!" Rhode sifted thru a few of the items in the stockings.

"I don't care," was the response. "Go ahead." Rhode humped and replaced her stocking on the wall.

Just then, Jasdero and Debitto tumbled into the living room, weaponless. Their guns had been confiscated by the Earl two days ago when they had accidently shot the old Christmas tree star. The star was still on the tree, but it now had a hold thru the middle.

"Oooh, Seiko, we're gonna tell Tyki you were sitting in his chair," Debitto said.

"Go ahead, meaningless brats," Seiko replied. The Noah stood and left the room. Seiko's relationship with most of the Noahs was civil, although with certain others, Seiko was antagonistic. Jasdebi were often on the brunt end of Seiko's anger.

"Why is she so mean to us?" Jesdebi cried simultaneously. Rhode ignored them and glanced into the other stockings. Despite Seiko's emitted hatred, the Noah hadn't begrudged the pair any stocking gifts and for Skin (from all appearances) dunked the non-sweet gifts in water and loaded them with sugar and froze them over or something.

"I think she doesn't want us to think she likes us," Rhode said with a tiny smile, skipping out of the room and into Tyki's legs. Rhode nearly toppled to the ground, but Tyki caught her arm.

"Who doesn't want us to think that she likes us?" Tyki asked curiously.

"Seiko," Rhode answered.

"Hm, that's true," Tyki said, walking to his chair. He sat down and blinked. "Who was sitting in my chair?" There was a slowly growing murderous air around the Noah, making the Jasdebi twins back away.

"It was the big ol' meanie, Seiko," Jasdero whined.

"Yeah, she called us 'meaningless' again," Debitto said. The twins were scowling.

"Oh, that's okay then," Tyki said, calming down.

"What," Jasdebi exclaimed. "That's so not fair!"

"She's not dirty like you guys are," Tyki said.

"Hey! We took a bath four days ago!"

"Gross," Tyki wrinkled his nose in disgust. Rhode reentered the room and crouched next to Tyki's chair.

"Uncle Tyki, think that Allen and Lenalee will like my gifts?" Rhode whispered, although it was hardly a secret that Rhode had given two Exorcists Christmas gifts this year.

"I'm sure they will," Tyki said.

"Good." Rhode smiled.

"Hey, how come there's no gifts for me," Jasdebi complained.

"They're hidden," Tyki said in sharp tones. "And don't go looking for them either." Regardless of Tyki's threatening tone, Jasdero and Debitto bolted out of the room to go raid the rest of the New Ark.

"They'll never find them," Rhode said, giggling as she jumped into Tyki's lap.

"Of course not," Quill said as he appeared from almost nowhere. The Noah's eyes darted around the room, undoubtedly marking every single little detail of the room. "The Earl hid them in a rainforest on the South American continent this year. Where's Seiko? She took a book I was reading."

"Dunno, she left when Jasdebi came in," Rhode shrugged. Quill sighed and retreated from the room.

"Rainforest?" Tyki repeated. "Well, if the twins go there, maybe Mother Nature will give them a bath."


	9. The Master's Thoughts

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _D.Gray-Man_. Hoshino-san does and I'm eternally grateful for the creation of such a fun manga.

Started out as plans for a chapter story, decided it was better ficlet material instead.

So, I kind of gave up on my Christmas Day story. It was turning out to be a real bore…. And 2stupid, your story is coming up shortly…I finally figured out a prank. I had my sister look up prank stuff (she asked for a topic to look up) and she found some pretty funny stuff. cackles I will have fun writing.

**Summary:** Cross' mother would tell him how when he grew up and had children of his own, those children would change his entire perspective and force him to rethink his priorities. Later in life, Cross would be fervently trying to prove his mother's words wrong.

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**The ****Master's Thoughts**

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When he was little (and when he was older as well) his mother would have him drink a glass of milk each meal of the day: breakfast, lunch, and supper. That was probably why he'd grown to be so tall. Heck, he was five-foot-eight by the time he was twelve.

Cross forced his apprentice to drink milk every day. Allen had been about twelve when he first picked him up and he looked seven at the time. Allen would always be short and scrawny, but at least he might end up looking his age…or close to it.

He had had two brothers, one older and one younger. As soon as they could say 'no' and get away with it, the two had stopped drinking milk every meal much to their mother's disappointment. His younger brother took to wearing tall top hats that their mother had found very charming. His older brother had boldly stated to their mother's dismay that he _liked_ being short and took to slouching around the house until their father calmly told him that slouching wasn't a very grown-up thing to do. Needless to say, his older brother had stopped slouching.

Cross found that measures such as challenging Allen's physical capability or masculinity weren't required to get the child to do as he wanted. The established regime of Master and Idiot Apprentice had been set early into the boy and thus, Allen did whatever he ordered—although there tended to be much of the 'dragging kicking and screaming' thing involved.

His family was one that practiced black magic. He excelled with magic in all areas while his older brother…was good enough while his younger brother was completely inept in the art. He was particularly fascinated with the art of necromancy, a fascination his father, mother, and a strange, so-called 'friend of the family' encouraged.

Cross had only truly lost his temper once with Allen during their years together. The first time he called upon Maria, the boy had more or less called him the Millennium Earl in human form. Needless to say, Cross had not taken that comment with any sort of humor and pistol-whipped the boy, knocking him out for a full day. Their relationship had already been dangerously shaky to begin with and the incident hadn't helped the situation. Cross could only suppose that the two of them had apologized somehow when for the next few days, Allen did what he was told without the usual fuss and Cross himself wasn't nearly so demanding of Allen.

Cross' mother would tell him how when he grew up and had children of his own, those children would change his entire perspective and force him to rethink his priorities. Later in life, Cross would be fervently trying to prove his mother's words wrong.

Allen wasn't his kid, but Cross still had to change his priorities. The kid required more food than the average twelve-year old and withholding any amount of food from the boy was nothing short of an early Apocalypse. Clothing, gloves for the Allen's hand, and other small but necessary things for a boy of twelve, although his required daily intake of food was nowhere _near_ small. But Hell be damned again if he gave in to some sort of freaky father-complex like a certain old man he knew.


End file.
